Tolerance of coriander cultivars under saline stress

This study aimed to evaluate the emergence, growth and phytomass accumulation of coriander cultivars under saline stress. The experiment was carried out from August to September 2014, in a protected environment (greenhouse), at the Center of Sciences and Food Technology - CCTA of the Federal University of Campina Grande – UFCG, located in the municipality of Pombal-PB, Brazil (6°47’20’’ S; 37°48’01’’ W; 194 m). Two coriander cultivars (C1 – ‘Verdao SF 177’ and C2 – ‘Portugues Pacifico’) were evaluated under five levels of irrigation water salinity (0.6 (control); 1.2; 1.8, 2.4 and 3.0 dS m-1), arranged in a 2 x 5 factorial scheme, in a randomized block design, with four replicates and five plants per replicate. Coriander plants were cultivated on trays of 36 cells with capacity for 0.1 dm3 of substrate, until 20 days after sowing, and evaluated for emergence, growth, phytomass accumulation and tolerance to salinity. The increase in irrigation water salinity reduced emergence percentage, growth and phytomass accumulation of coriander plants. The cultivar ‘Portugues Pacifico’ is more tolerant to salinity than ‘Verdao SF 177’. The cultivars ‘Portugues Pacifico’ and ‘Verdao SF 177’ can be irrigated with water of up to 2.6 and 1.9 dS m-1, respectively, in the initial growth stage.   Key words: Coriandrum sativum, salinity, emergence, initial growth.